From the Pulpit

Pentecost 9 2017, Proper 14
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
August 13, 2017
Psalm 18:1-6, Job 38:4-18, Romans 10:5-17, Matthew 14:22-33

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

There are twelve men that night in a boat rowing against the wind and the waves soaked to the skin from the spray coming over the bow each time they crest a wave.  Very likely one of them has to take a break from rowing in order to bail water out of the boat to keep it from swamping.  It is dark and the wind is fierce.  The men are wet and exhausted.  It is long past midnight and the men are laboring at the oars without making much progress.

In the midst of their struggle and fatigue they see a figure out in the water.  It’s dark, but it looks like a man walking on the water, the twelve are terrified and cry out, “It is a ghost!”

But then the figure speaks to them; it is Jesus, “Take heart; it is I.  Do not be afraid.”

It is their Lord and teacher, Jesus.  Thank God.

There are twelve disciples of Jesus in the boat, but one of them, Peter, is bold and adventurous and He calls out, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  And Jesus tells Him, “Come.”

And Peter, bold and awesome Peter, gets out of the boat and walks on water.  Peter is willing to take some chances.  Peter is courageous.  Peter throws caution to the wind because He is a fully devoted follower of Jesus.  You should want to be like Peter doing brave and amazing things.

We can see here that Jesus has two kinds of disciples; two kinds of followers.  We have those who do bold and awesome things for Jesus and we have those who timidly stay in the boat.  Which kind of disciple are you?

Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Time out here.  Flag on the play.  Is that what this story is really about?  This was becoming a story about you and how you should be more like Peter.  But is that what this text is about?  Is this Gospel reading all about how you need to be bold and awesome like Peter?  Is the text about you?  Is it about Peter?  Who is this reading about?

Oh.  The reading is about Jesus.  It’s about Jesus sending the disciples on ahead so He could have some time alone to pray.  It’s about Jesus walking on the water.  It’s about Jesus saving Peter from drowning in his doubts.  It’s about Jesus calming the wind.  It is about Jesus being declared by the disciples to be, “The Son of God.”  This is part of Jesus revealing who He is on His way to His sacrifice on that cross for the sins of the world and His resurrection from the dead.  The text is not about you.  The text is not about Peter.  It’s about Jesus.  It’s not about you, it’s about Jesus for you.

We are so tempted to make every Bible story to be about us.  I want to insert myself into the Bible and make each story about me.  I so much want the Bible to be about me doing bold and awesome things because I really like the idea of being bold and awesome.  Pastor Jud is bold and awesome.  He turns his fear into adventure.  He is fully, courageously following Jesus.  How cool is that?  I could preach sermons about how bold and awesome I am and encourage you to be bold and awesome too; just like me.  I hear this is an effective strategy at many mega churches.

This story is about Jesus and yet so many times it will preached as if it is about how you need to be bold and awesome like Peter.

But once I start to think that the Bible is about me being bold and awesome I find myself in a similar position to Peter when he tried to be bold and awesome.  Peter found himself drowning in the deep water of His doubts in the Sea of Galilee.  Peter didn’t believe Jesus when he said, “Take heart; it is I.”  Peter doubted and needed proof.  “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  Peter doubts Jesus.  Peter needs hard evidence.  Peter ventures out to walk on the water but quickly gets scared and begins to sink.  Peter ends up the same place I end up when I think I can do things on my own; drowning in my sin and doubts, crying out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”  I probably like to think that I am bold and awesome because the truth is so much the opposite.  I am a poor, miserable sinner who struggles daily with temptations and doubts.  I can pretend to be bold and awesome, but by myself I only sink deeper into the waters of my failure and drown in my own sin and doubt.  On my own I live in terror of God and his righteous judgement on my sin.

This story is about Jesus and yet so many times it will preached as if it is about how you need to be bold and awesome like Peter.  It is an easy thing for a pastor to shame other people for not doing more, shame them for being those cowardly, lazy disciples who stay on the boat.  It is a simple way to motivate people through guilt by saying you should be more like Peter and get out of the boat and be bold and awesome.  Because when asked the question are you more like supposedly bold and awesome Peter, or are you more like the disciples who stay in the safety of the boat.  I, for one, know that I am one who needs the safety of the boat.  I can’t walk on water.  I sometimes fantasize about being a bold and awesome Christian who saves many people by doing things no one else has ever done.  But that is the fantasy.  The reality is much messier.  The reality is that I am a natural born sinner trying to bring the Good News of Jesus to other natural born sinners.  Trying to love and serve others.  The reality is that I can’t save anyone.  I can only do what I have been given to do.  I can baptize and preach and teach and administer the Lord’s Supper.  But I can’t save anyone.  Jesus does all the saving.  And indeed the Lord has saved so many.  So many have been saved by Jesus right here in the waters of baptism.  In these waters you were buried with Jesus through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, you too may live a new life.  Instead of drowning in your doubts, your sins were drowned.  Instead of drowning in the doubts of your self-righteousness, the Old Adam in you should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires.

I can’t save anyone, you can’t save anyone.  I am not bold and awesome.  You are not bold and awesome.  You are an ordinary person living out an ordinary life.  But you live out your ordinary life in an extraordinary way knowing you have already been saved by Jesus.  The reality of life as a follower of Jesus is that you have been washed in the blood of Jesus and are set apart as salt and light in the world.  You are called to love and serve one another.  Loving and serving is rarely bold and awesome, but rather humble and often tedious.  Doing what you have been given to do is difficult and repetitive.  It is hard to do what you are given to do as a child, a parent, a husband, a wife, a student, a teacher, a worker, an employer, a citizen, a public servant, a Christian.  Living out your various vocations is rarely bold and awesome and yet it is where you make the most difference in the lives of others.  Our Immanuel Lutheran School teachers live this out each day as they put in long hours loving and serving their students in the name of Jesus; especially those students who are more difficult to love.  Teachers model living out ordinary lives in extraordinary ways.  You may be an ordinary person, but you have been saved by the Lord Jesus Himself.  You are safe and secure in Jesus and are able to shine His love to others.

We are tempted to look to Peter and think how bold and courageous he is, but Peter went out on the water because he doubted.  Jesus says to Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt.”  The ones who remained in the boat, these are the ones who declare to Jesus, “Truly you are the Son of God.”  We are tempted to go after bold and adventurous things because that is often the attractive way; the easier way.  It is easier to go after some big, exciting adventure rather than do the hard work of the mundane things of everyday life.  There is not much glamour in the routine living out of life as a child of God doing what you are supposed to do.  Living out your vows and responsibilities.  Doing the things you have been given to do.  Struggling against sin and temptation.  Sorrowing over sin and repenting.  This is the hard road of a disciple of Jesus.  It is not too exciting.

In our call to live in love and service to others it is given to us to reach out in faith to others to plant the seeds of the Gospel.  We are called to love others by telling them of the great Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for them.  It’s okay to try new things.  It’s okay to try new things and fail.  But how bold and awesome you are is not a measure of how good you are as a disciple of Jesus.

There are not two kinds of disciples; those that are bold and awesome and those who stay in the boat.  There is only one kind of disciple of Jesus; the kind that cannot do it on their own; the kind that needs to be saved by Jesus.

Amen.

Pentecost 8 2017, Proper 13
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
August 6, 2017
Psalm 136:1-9, Isaiah 55:1-5, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

A wise, somewhat strange looking man once said, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime you just might find You get what you need.”

Jesus appears to be having a miraculous day in a most unlikely place.  Jesus goes out by himself in a boat to a desolate place; to the wilderness.  There is a cloud hanging over Him and He wants to be alone.  But, it seems, Jesus is not allowed to be alone.  Someone sees Jesus leaving in the boat and they follow him by foot along the shore tracking His progress on the Sea of Galilee and collecting more and more people as they walk through towns along the coast.

The people have heard the news.  Jesus is amazing.  Jesus can heal the sick.  Jesus can reverse the effects of leprosy, blindness, disability, sickness.  Where every doctor has failed, Jesus succeeds.  Jesus can cure anything.  He is amazing.  He is incredible.  The people have never seen anything like this anywhere.  How can one man have so much power; so much authority over sickness and disability?  Only God can have this kind of power.

And so as Jesus gets out of the boat to have some alone time in the wilderness He is not alone.  He is met by thousands of people who have walked a long way to be there with Jesus.  They have brought their sick friends and family.  Despite His desire to be alone Jesus has compassion on the crowds and heals all the sick.  What an amazing thing to do.  Jesus has authority over disease.  Jesus has authority over blindness.  Jesus has authority over any kind of disorder and can miraculously make it right.  What a show of Jesus’ greatness on display in this desolate place along the shores of Galilee.  And yet there is an horrible cloud hanging over all of what happens this day on the seashore.

Now it is getting late and there are a lot of people and there isn’t any food and the disciples come to Jesus to “help him out.”  Obviously Jesus does not understand the situation.  Obviously he is overlooking a pretty important issue.  I mean, I know He just spent hours healing all these sick people, but He isn’t really engaged with these people’s needs.  It is good we have the disciples there to help Jesus out.  They say to him:

Matthew 14:15 (ESV) ¹⁵ … “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”^[1]

The 12 disciples are there with empty hands telling Jesus what he needs to do.  But Jesus turns it right around and tells them.  Matthew 14:16 (ESV) ¹⁶ … “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”^[2]

Amazingly, in this desolate place; this wilderness place, the people now can lie down in green pastures beside the still waters.

The disciples often are pretty thickheaded.  They just saw Jesus do all these incredible miracles, but they think they need to intervene on behalf of the hungry people.  These 12, thickheaded, empty-handed disciples now scramble around trying to find some kind of food for all these people but all they can come up with is five loaves of bread and two fish.  This is not even enough to feed the 12 disciples.  This is ridiculous.  How can the disciples possibly feed all these thousands of people?  But Jesus says, “Bring them here to me.”

Jesus tells the people to sit down on the grass.  Amazingly, in this desolate place; this wilderness place, the people now can lie down in green pastures beside the still waters.  Jesus takes the five loaves and two fish and looks up into heaven, says a blessing and breaks the loaves.  And then Jesus gives the loaves and fish to the disciples and the previously empty-handed disciples now distribute the food to the thousands of people and they all eat and are satisfied and the twelve disciples return with their hands full of the overflow from the feast.  What an incredible happening; how miraculous.  Jesus multiplied the food until there was more than enough for five thousand men, plus women and children.  Jesus is astonishing.  Jesus is beyond belief.  Jesus has the power of God.  And yet a cloud still hangs over this wonderful, miracle-filled day.

You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need.

Jesus has great power; divine power.  Jesus is almighty.  Jesus is God in flesh.  Jesus can heal thousands of sick.  Jesus can feed thousands with food only enough for a few.  And yet this ugly cloud is hanging over everything; dark and gray.  Jesus and the disciples just received word that John the Baptist was killed by Herod Antipas’ henchmen.  They woke John up in the dungeon in the middle of the night and they cut off his head.  And why?  Because Herod got drunk and when his step-daughter danced a likely very provocative dance He promised to give her whatever she wanted.  She asked her mother, Herodias, who is Herod’s sister-in-law, but sleeping with Herod what she should ask for.  Herodias hated John the Baptist because John said that Herod Antipas should not be sleeping with His brother Phillip’s wife.  Herodias did not want anyone telling her what to do; let alone some wacky desert prophet.  And so she told her daughter to ask for John the Baptist’s head on a platter.  John tried to tell Herodias what was the right thing to do and so John had to be killed to silence him.

How horrifying!  How repulsive!  How evil!  This is the prophet of God who announced Jesus’ arrival.  This is the one who prepared the way for Jesus.  This is the one who leapt in the womb at Jesus’ presence in Mary’s womb.  This new Elijah is killed in an awful, brutal, ugly, stupid, evil way.  Why didn’t Jesus stop it?  Why didn’t Jesus rescue John from Herod’s dungeon?  Why didn’t Jesus save John?  He could have done it, but He didn’t do it.

You have had loved ones who have gotten sick.  You have had loved ones die.  You prayed for them to be healed.  Why didn’t Jesus do it?  Why didn’t Jesus save your loved one?  It is so hard.

Jesus has great power.  And yet Jesus allows evil and sorrow to continue…for now.  Jesus has great power and yet you still walk in the valley of the shadow of death.  But the Lord is with you in the valley.

And still, in the midst of all the heartache and sadness in life Jesus provides for you in abundance.  There is food aplenty.  The problem in this nation generally is not lack of food, but consumption of too much food.  We have an abundance.  There is enough food to feed the world and have leftovers.

God provides for you with food and drink, housing and clothing and all that you need to support this body and life.

Why do you say grace before you eat?  Or, why should you say grace?  What is the point?  What is the purpose?  Does it make the food taste better?  Does it make the food more nutritious?

We say grace because it is our way of acknowledging that each mouthful; each morsel is a gift from God.  Luther’s practice of asking a blessing before a meal is a good one.  He begins with a bit from Psalm 145.  Psalm 145:15-16 (ESV) ¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you, [O Lord] and you give them their food in due season. ¹⁶ You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.^[3]  Then the Lord’s prayer and then the following:  Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these your gifts which we receive from your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

You can find these in the daily prayers section of the catechism.  There are simple copies of the catechism at each entrance entitled, “Simple Explanation of Christianity.”  Take one home.  Share one with a friend.

Saying grace is acknowledging God’s provision.  It is easy to forget that God is the source of all good things.  God blesses and provides, but not necessarily in the way that we want Him to.

Saying grace in the cafeteria of a hospital where you are sitting vigil with a dying loved one acknowledges that even in the valley of the shadow of death God still provides for you.  Even if you don’t get what you want.  You get what you need.

Jesus reigns in ways that we do not expect or understand.  We see this most clearly as He reigns in His most glorious moment in His sacrifice on the cross for our sins.  Hanging in humiliation and excruciating pain is not what you would expect of God and yet there He is, suffering and dying for your sins.

When you receive into your mouth the body and blood of Christ you may think.  Really?  Is this it?  Just a wafer of bread; just a sip of wine?  What good can possibly come of this?  And yet in the bread and wine you receive Jesus.  You get what you need.

Jesus does not reign in the way that we expect Him to.  Jesus does not give you everything you want, but He gives you what you need for this life and for life eternal.  In Jesus, you get what you need.

Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Pentecost 8 2017, Proper 12
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 30, 2017
Psalm 125:1-5, Deuteronomy 7:6-9, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 13:44-52

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

Grammar is important.  And I am not talking about the person married to Grandpa.  When I was in sixth grade and supposed to be getting more in depth with nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, subjects, predicates, objects, dependent and independent -clauses my teacher, whom I thought was great, thought we would be better served learning to write our own comic books.  I’m not sure I ever quite caught up on what I should know about grammar.  I still have to look up what a predicate is.  Grammar is important.

What is the subject of the sentence, what is the verb, what is the object?  Grammar can make all the difference.  In our Gospel reading today we get two strange parables without any explanation.

Matthew 13:44 (ESV) ⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ^[1]

This is a bizarre little story.  And the next is similar.

Matthew 13:45-46 (ESV) ⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. ^[2]

Two stories about a man who found something that he prized so highly he sold all that he has in order to possess it.  The man gave up everything in order to have the treasure; in order to obtain the pearl.

Two very short, very strange stories.  Now, these are not investing advice.  This is not how Dave Ramsey would say you should handle your money.  The whole not putting all your eggs in one basket thing.  This guy put the eggs and everything else into the one basket.  This guy went all in on a buried treasure.  This guy gave up everything to possess a single pearl.  This is a foolish way to act.

Here is where the grammar comes in.  The man, in his joy, goes and sells all he has and buys that field.  The man, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

This guy went all in on a buried treasure.  This guy gave up everything to possess a single pearl.  This is a foolish way to act.

The man is the subject, the object is the field with the treasure; the object is the pearl.  The man goes, the man sells, the man buys.  All to obtain the treasure.  The man went, the man sold, the man bought.  All to get the pearl.

The big question is, who is the man?  What is the treasure?  Who is the man? What is the pearl?  Over the history of Christianity, most scholars agree that the treasure, the pearl, is eternal life in Christ.  The man is you seeking the treasure that is Jesus.  This makes sense in that Jesus is the most important thing in life.  But then what is the application?  In order to obtain the treasure; in order to possess the pearl, all you have to do is give up everything that you have in order to buy it.

We see this kind of language in the parable of the unmerciful servant who owed an unpayable debt and he and his family and all that he has was to be sold to pay a small portion of the debt.  This is not a good outcome for the servant.  He is sold as a slave.  Jesus is indeed a treasure, but scripture does not speak about us having to buy the treasure.

Against the common thinking about these stories, the parables make so much more theological sense if we flip the subject and the object.  In almost all parables Jesus, or God in general is the one doing the action.  In the parable of the weeds, for example, the one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man; Jesus.  He is the one acting.

In the parable of the treasure, Jesus is the one who finds the treasure hidden in the field.  Jesus then sells all that He has in order to get the treasure.  What is the treasure?  You are the treasure.  Jesus gives up everything in order to have you.  What a foolish way to act.

Jesus gives up His loved ones.  Jesus gives up His comfort.  Jesus gives up His freedom.  Jesus gives up His skin.  Jesus gives up His blood.  Jesus gives up His clothing.  Jesus gives up His hands and feet.  Jesus gives up breath.  Jesus gives up His life on that cross at Calvary.  Jesus gives up everything He has in order to obtain the treasure; in order to possess the pearl; in order to have you.  Jesus gives up everything for you.

These parables show how the Kingdom of Heaven is; how the reign of heaven is.  These parables show how Jesus reigns.  Jesus does not reign in an expected way; Jesus reigns in giving up utterly everything to save you.  Jesus reigns in a way we find foolish and yet He does it all for you.

What a wonderful comfort as you make your way through this difficult life.  You are the treasure that Jesus gave everything to obtain.  You are the pearl Jesus gave everything to possess.  You are Jesus’ prized possession.  That is grace.  That is why it is amazing.

As you move through this life full of evil and hardship what a great encouragement to know that Jesus values you so highly that He gave everything for you.  And from the next parable of the net we learn that this walk through the valley of the shadow of death is only temporary.  The day is coming when Jesus will return in glory and He will be the final subject of the final verb.  Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead.  The great net will be thrown and all the fish will be gathered and sorted.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The evil will be separated from the righteous.  The day is coming when all the evil in the world will be undone.  Until then you have to live in this world and face the temptations of the evil one including the temptation to wonder whether or not you are truly saved.

Often when I teach I use a simple grammatical example of how to best talk about salvation.  How would you answer the question, “How do you know you are saved?”

Some folks will say, “Because I am pretty good.” Or “Because I do good works.” Or “Because I am not as bad as so and so.”  These are not good answers.  How can you know you have done enough?

Some will say, “Because I believe in Jesus.” Or “Because I have faith.” Or “Because I gave my heart to Jesus.”  Or “Because I decided to follow Jesus”.  These also are not good answers because in these answers “I” is the subject of the sentence and “Jesus” is the object.  There is great danger in these answers because when you are the subject of the sentence and you are doing the verbs there is room for great doubt.  You are always left wondering; do I believe enough, do I have enough faith, can I really give my heart to Jesus, did I decide fully enough to follow him?  Did I do enough?  Did I really go all in on Jesus enough to obtain salvation?  The devil loves doubt because he can use it to drive you to despair.

There is a much better answer.  How do you know you are saved?  Because Jesus died for me.  Because Jesus died for you.  In this there is no doubt.  Jesus went all in for you.  Jesus is the subject of the sentence and you are his object.  Jesus is doing the verb and Jesus does the verbs perfectly.  You are Jesus’ treasure.  Jesus did it all; gave it all, for you.  Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible- : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Pentecost 7 2017, Proper 11
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 23, 2017
Psalm 119:57-64, Isaiah 44:6-8, Romans 8:18-27, Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

Most summers I plant a garden in hopes of being able to harvest cucumbers and tomatoes and watermelon and beans and sweet potatoes.  I have such a great picture of my garden in my mind of what my garden will look like as I plant the tomatoes just after Mother’s Day.  There will be these big, beautiful green plants standing tall in their cages contrasting with the clear black soil.  Stunning plants offering up their juicy red and yellow fruit.

But it doesn’t take long for the reality of the garden to show itself.  The rich garden soil does not grow just the tomatoes and cucumbers and such, it also is a great place to grow weeds.  Big, tall grassy weeds.  Low, small-leafed, spreading weeds.  Weeds with thorns, weeds with flowers, lots and lots of weeds.  I fertilize the garden and this helps the weeds grow.  I set up an automatic watering system for when I am away on vacation or servant event and this helps the weeds to grow to amazing heights.  There is nothing quite as disheartening as coming home from vacation to see the garden overgrown with weeds.  I have to search through the weeds to try to find the vegetables I planted.

Too often this is how things are in life.  You are a baptized child of God.  You have been set apart to be kept safe in the holy ark of the Christian Church, being separated from the multitude of unbelievers.  You are a child of God made pure and holy by Jesus. But you live in a world that is full of sin and evil.  You are redeemed by the blood of Jesus but you live amongst such great evil.

It is hard to listen to or watch or read the news without becoming depressed at what is going on in the world.  War, terrorism, poverty, famine, disease, violence, anger, drug addiction, overdoses, hatred, broken families, abortion, abused children.  A short time spent with the news and it becomes clear that there is great evil all around us.  Why?

Why doesn’t God take care of this?  Why doesn’t God change all of this?  Why doesn’t God make it all stop now?  People ask, “How can a loving God allow so much evil in the world?”

An article in the Huffington Post summarizes the question well, “A classic question in theology asks how can a loving, yet omnipotent God permit evil and suffering in the world? The argument goes as follows: A God that allows suffering to continue is either a) not all-powerful (not omnipotent) and is thus unable to prevent the suffering; b) not loving because this God has the power to prevent suffering but is unwilling to do so; and/or c) not all-knowing (not omniscient) because God only is aware of the suffering after it has already occurred and it’s too late to prevent it. This problem of evil and God’s inability or unwillingness to do anything about it is known in theology as “theodicy.”[1]

Why does God allow anger and hatred and violence and abuse and disease and death continue to operate?  Why is the world so full of evil?

Why doesn’t God get rid of the sons of the evil one?  Why doesn’t God just eliminate all the evil and suffering in the world?

In this parable today, Jesus addresses this very issue.  Weeds have been planted in amongst the wheat.  God planted only good seed, but the devil planted weeds.  There are children of the kingdom and there are sons of the evil one.  Why doesn’t God just pull up the weeds?  Why doesn’t God get rid of the sons of the evil one?  Why doesn’t God just eliminate all the evil and suffering in the world?  O Lord, do you want us to go and gather up the weeds?

Jesus answers, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.”  The Lord is patient and longsuffering.  The Lord does not want anyone to perish and so, for now, He allows the wheat and weeds to grow up together.  The harvest is coming, but for now we grow together.  There is a desire to try to have an untainted church with no evil influences; a church with all the right people.  There are some in the church at large who want to practice much more frequent excommunication as a way to try to purify the church and keep it from bad influences.  But we see in this parable the need to be careful about trying to purify the church by somehow eliminating those we perceive to be weeds.  By trying to eliminate the weeds we may…we will… end up damaging the wheat.  We would like to think we can tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds, but that is above our pay grade.  I think that in our own personal struggles we may even have trouble at times determining wheat or weed with the person in the mirror.  There are a lot of hurt and broken people in the world and Jesus wants them all to come to a knowledge of the truth.

When we see so much evil in the world we want it to end and can get angry with God about how He is handling it.  We think we know better how Jesus should handle things in this world.  We don’t like that He lets evil continue to exist because evil makes life very difficult, very sad.  Life in this world is hard.  There is great suffering in the world.  The whole creation groans along with each of us.  We groan because of the evil in the world.  We groan waiting for these degrading bodies of ours to be transformed into imperishable bodies.  We groan inwardly as we wait for all the evil of the world to be taken away.  We groan because of the evil that clings to us.  We groan and the Holy Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.  The Lord knows how hard life is; he has not forgotten you or forsaken you.

Living in this world is hard.  Life is hard.  Life in this world is a struggle against rot and darkness and decay and weeds.  As a follower of Jesus; as a baptized child of God you are the salt of the earth.  You are the light of the world.  Christ’s love shining through you as you interact with people in your everyday life helps battle the rot, push back the darkness, slow the decay, but it isn’t easy.  It is an on-going, exhausting battle.  It is a long, hard walk on the narrow path.  There are so many weeds in the world; so much evil.  How do you get through it?  You persevere.  You push on.  You put on the armor of God and stand your ground.  And you know that you are not alone.

That is why it is so good to be here.  It is good to gather together to lean on one another when the going gets tough.  It is good to be here and know you are not the lone stalk of wheat in a world of weeds.  The Lord did not sow just one seed.  You are not alone.  It is good to be here together to hear Jesus’ forgiveness for your sins and be fed with very Body and Blood of Jesus in communion.  You live out your calling to be salt and light to the world and look forward to the great harvest to come.

The day is coming.  The day is coming when all evil will be eliminated.  The day is coming when the weeds will be gathered up and thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  The day is coming when Jesus will return and these degrading bodies; these decaying bodies; these broken and hurting bodies will be raised up in perfection.  The day is coming when the great harvest will take place and the Lord will gather you into His barn for all eternity.  The day is coming when the Lord will come for all those sealed in the waters of Holy Baptism who wear the white robe of Christ’s righteousness.  The day is coming when the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  The day is coming when all will be made right.

Until then, support each other, pray for each other, work with each other as salt and light to reduce the evil and decay in the world.  And look forward to the coming harvest when evil will be finished forever. Amen.

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-small/why-must-evil-and-sufferi_b_857787.html

Pentecost 4 2017 Proper 8
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 2, 2017
Psalm 119:153-160, Jeremiah 28:5-9, Romans 7:1-13, Matthew 10:34-42

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

The Fourth of July holiday is almost here when we celebrate the Founding Fathers’ Declaration of Independence from England.  We remember the bravery and foresight of those early patriots who were willing to risk their lives to achieve freedom from England and start a new nation.  They had their priorities set.  Their desire for independence was greater than their loyalty to the King; greater than fortune, family or life or.

What are your priorities in life?  If you had to list your top four of five priorities in life how would they fall?  Family, work, school, spouse, leisure?  Where does God fit in?  For some folks work comes first before anything else.  For others, family.  For others spouse.  Some leisure.  I think it is difficult to have a clear ranking, because, at least for me, it seems it is more of a balancing act rather than one thing clearly coming before others.  But if push came to shove what is the most important in your life?  Where does God fit into your priorities?  Where does gathering together on Sunday fit into your life?  Do you attend worship to receive the forgiveness of sins every week?  Many of you only miss if you are deathly ill or out of town?  For others, coming to church is something you might get around to once in a while if there is nothing else happening.  Of course you all are here, so I am kind of preaching to the choir.

Our Gospel reading begins with Jesus saying, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  Now Jesus certainly did come to bring peace on the earth; He is the Prince of Peace.  At Jesus’ birth the angels announce peace.  Indeed Jesus brings peace, but not always peace; not only peace.  Jesus call for repentance comes up against the sin of the world and this causes opposition.  Jesus brings peace and a sword, so likely we should understand this passage to mean, “Do not think that I came only so as to bring peace upon the earth; I came not only so as to bring peace, but even more, a sword.”

Jesus brings a sharp, lethal sword.  Jesus comes to bring the Reign of Heaven and calls for all to repent and follow Him, but due to the sinful condition of the human heart and Jesus’ uncompromising teachings there is great hostility.  Jesus brings peace but that offer of peace causes conflict and strife because Jesus’ truth is agonizingly absolute.

Jesus says, Matthew 12:30 (ESV) ³⁰ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.^[1]  You are either with Jesus or against Jesus.  There is no middle ground.

This is an exceedingly difficult teaching.  We are so much more comfortable with compromise than with absolutes.  We don’t like the black and white clarity of Jesus’ uncompromising teaching.  We don’t like black or white; yes or no; everything or nothing.  We prefer middle ground.  Instead of black or white we want gray.  Instead of yes or no we want maybe.  Instead of everything or nothing we want something.  We much prefer a mushy gray…maybe…something middle where we can all just get along and we can ask, along with Pontius Pilate, “What is truth?”

Folks desperately want to live in a mushy world of grays where you can have your truth and I can have my truth and they can have their truth and we can pretend that there are really many contradictory truths that are all equally true.  We so much want to transform the sharp, lethal sword of Jesus’ truth into a dull, harmless butter knife that won’t cut anything.  We want to soften Jesus’ truth and live in a world of maybes.  But that world does not really exist.  The world of maybes is just a figment of our postmodern imaginations.  Jesus is truth.  Salvation comes through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  Jesus’ forgiveness, eternal life and salvation are given through Baptism, the Word of God and Holy Communion.

Jesus is the way…the only way…and there is no other way.  And this brings conflict.

We can see the sword of Jesus’ truth cut in the world as there are nations that have officially set themselves against the truth of Jesus.  We see this in the outright persecution of Christians in so many countries.

We can see the sword of truth cut in our nation where currently the fastest growing religious group is the “nones”.  Those that have no religious affiliation now make up 23 percent of the U.S. population.  Eighty percent of our country’s population is not in worship each week.

We can see how the sword of the truth cuts among churches in our nation.  As church attendance patterns decline there can be a great panic as to how to attract people back to church.  What can we do to make them want to come to worship?  Too often, I fear, the result is that churches rework the truth of Jesus so it is not so difficult.  They want to sheath the sword of Jesus so that it is safer.  They want to dull the sword to a butter knife so people are not made to feel uncomfortable about their sin.  Too often churches will talk about anything rather than Jesus.  Anything except sin, repentance and forgiveness.

We can see the sword of Jesus’ truth in our homes as family members start to follow the ways of the world instead of the ways of Jesus and will defiantly demand that we choose, “Choose me and my ways rather than your Jesus and His ways.”  Now, believing Christians will patiently continue to love and care for the straying loved one but too often the straying loved one will force the issue; force the choice and as a follower of Jesus you need to choose Jesus.  And this is so terribly painful.

We can see the sword of Jesus’ truth in the world, in our nation, in the Church at large and in our families, but that is not where it cuts the worst.  The sword of Jesus cuts the worst in your own life as it cuts sin away from you.  The sword of Jesus’ truth slashes deeply in my life as it cuts away the stubborn sin that clings to me; or more honestly, the sin to which I stubbornly cling.  Jesus comes to cut to shreds all my compromises with sin; all my treaties with the evil in my life.  Jesus’ truth is deadly to the old sinful Adam that daily needs to be slain in my life.  Jesus’ truth cuts away everything that is sinful in my life.  Jesus’ truth cuts away everything that is sinful in your life. Everything.  Everything.  Everything.

Jesus’ sword is unbending, unyielding and mercilessly sharp.  Jesus’ truth is agonizingly absolute and terrifyingly personal.

And this cutting away is not a one-time cathartic experience where you are able to leave the old, sinful self behind forever and emerge a new, sinless person.  It is not a weekend retreat or a revival meeting where you easily shed your sinful skin.  It is not a happy ending; but rather it is a new beginning.  You get a new beginning in Christ.  You are born again in water and the word.  You receive a call to live out life taking up your cross and following Jesus.  Called to take up the sword.  Called to a lifetime of cutting away sin while following Jesus on the way.

Jesus is the only way.  There is no divided loyalty.  You are Jesus’ first priority.  Jesus is your first priority.  You shall have no other gods.

Those who seek to find life in this world will only find a doomed life.  To lose your life in Christ’s life is to find the real life.  The true life.  Eternal life.  In Christ you have forgiveness of all your sins.  In Christ you are washed clean and covered with the robe of Jesus’ righteousness.  In Christ you have the fullness of life and peace forever.  Jesus’ truth is absolute.  Jesus died and rose for you.  There is peace and comfort in the absoluteness of Jesus’ truth.  In Jesus you find real life; eternal life.  Jesus is the way and so you walk the way, following Jesus, carrying your cross.  It is a long walk.  Blessed is the one who offers a cup of cold water along the way.

Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Pentecost 3, 2017 Proper 7
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 25, 2017
Psalm 91:1-10, Jeremiah 20:7-13, Romans 6:12-23, Matthew 10:5, 21-33

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

When I was young we used to have this red and yellow plastic game called Perfection in which you would try to get 25 various shaped pieces into the correctly shaped holes in a depressed game board before the timer buzzed and the game board would spring up ejecting all the pieces destroying all the work you had done.  The goal was to get every piece in the right spot and turn off the timer before it buzzed.  It was a lot of frustrating fun to try to get all the right pieces into the right holes.

Life often feels like trying to get the right pieces into the right holes before time is up and it can be very frustrating and not much fun.  One thing so many of us do is to try to fit Jesus’ cross shaped piece into the square hole of our lives.

We so much want to try to force Jesus to conform to the shape of our lives; to force His will and desires to adapt to our will and our desires.  But there is a big problem.  Jesus doesn’t fit into your life.  You are by nature sinful and unclean and Jesus is, by nature of being God in flesh, holy and righteous.  You cannot fit Jesus into your life.  His cross shaped block won’t fit into a square hole.  But the square block of your life will fit into the cross-shaped space of Jesus.

As a baptized child of God you are brought into Jesus.  You are clothed in Christ.  You put on Christ.  You die to sin and rise to new life.  As we learn from Romans 6:5-7 (ESV) ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin.^[1]

In baptism your old self is crucified with Christ.  But the old self, the old sinful self, does not like this one bit.  I am a natural born sinner.  I naturally love sin.  I want to sin.  You are a natural born sinner.  You naturally love to sin.  You want to sin.  But you no longer belong to sin; you belong to Christ.  Your life is in Christ and you are called to struggle to conform your life to Christ.  You are a square peg in the cross-shape of Jesus’ life and you live life to conform to Christ.

You are by nature sinful and unclean and Jesus is, by nature of being God in flesh, holy and righteous.  You cannot fit Jesus into your life.

Sadly, too many people want to conform Christ to themselves.  They want to take the cross shape of Christ and cut it down to size to conform to their own will and their own desires.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about love.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about sin.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about salvation.  They want to cut off Jesus’ teachings about Him taking up the cross and you taking up the cross.

You live in a culture full of people hell bent on cutting Jesus down to size to fit their will and desires.  They break off this piece of Jesus and that piece of Jesus until their Jesus just resembles them.  The world hates the real Jesus, but it may tolerate a spineless, moldable Jesus who teaches whatever they tell him to teach.  People want to transform Jesus’ teaching that we must love one another into a teaching that says it is evil to talk about sin.  Loving your neighbor is very hard, especially when you have to warn someone that they are on the wrong path. The world wants to teach that there is no wrong path.  But Jesus is clear, Matthew 7:13 (ESV) ¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.^[2]

There is a great temptation to trim off Jesus’ teachings about how sexual intimacy belongs only within the marriage union of a man and a woman.  Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV)
⁴ [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”^[3]  We desperately want to adjust Jesus’ teachings so that they fit into our desires, our practice, our lifestyle.  This is such an active battlefront in the world in which we live as the cultural elites try to demand and coerce conformity to their ever-evolving sexual ideas.  It is also an active battlefront in your life as you live as a natural-born sinner in a society with great depravity lurking just beneath the surface.  It seems that everyone is teaching you to do what you want to do and forget about God’s will.  There is an almost irresistible urge to make Jesus’ teachings conform to your own desires.

We urgently want to adjust Jesus’ teaching where He says, “John 14:6 (ESV) ⁶ …“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.^[4]  We want to believe there are many ways to the father.  We want salvation to be about how we can “be good enough” to merit forgiveness and eternal life.  We want to be able to cut Jesus out of the equation and make the cross unnecessary.  Recently a U.S. Senator stated that someone who believes that Jesus is the only way to salvation “is really not someone who is what this country is supposed to be about.”  And that someone believing that Jesus is the only way is unfit to serve in the U.S. Government.  There is great pressure to try to conform Jesus’ teachings to our own desires.

We want to forget about Jesus’ teaching about Him going to the cross and us having to take up our cross and follow Him.  We would much rather go to church and hear about how we can be successful.  We want to hear about living the victorious life not about a life as a servant to our neighbor.  We want to hear how Jesus makes life simpler and easier, not about taking up our cross and following Jesus.

We so very much want to cut the cross of Jesus down to conform to the shape of our lives, but that is not how it works.  Your life is lost in Christ.  In baptism you have died to sin.  Romans 6:12 (ESV) ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.^[5]

Living in the cross-shaped, cruciform way of Christ will make you many enemies.  Confessing Jesus as Lord will get you hated.  They hated Jesus, they will hate you too.  Now, you never want to self-righteously seek out the hatred of others by being obnoxious or hateful towards them, but you also should not be surprised when hatred comes just because you confess Jesus as Lord.  In school, at the university, at work, at family gatherings you can be made to be a laughingstock because you are trying to conform your life to Christ rather than conform Christ to your life.  And persecution can get much worse than scorn and humiliation as we see around the world.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ suffer not only ridicule, but marginalization, abuse, torture and even execution for confessing Jesus as Lord.  It is estimated that 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016.  Matthew 5:10 ESV  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Christians going to their deaths because they will not deny Jesus are living out Jesus instructions in Matthew 10:28 (ESV) ²⁸ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^[6]

The worst that communists and radical Islamists and radical Hindus and radical secularists and organized criminals and drug cartels can do to you is to kill you.  Do not fear them; they can only kill the body.  Fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Now it is easy to say, “Do not fear.”  I cannot imagine my emotions if I were the one facing a gun to my head or a knife to my throat that would be removed if only I would renounce Jesus.

I pray that indeed the Holy Spirit would give me the words to say and I could confess Jesus, and fear, love and trust God despite that I am very much afraid.

Life as a Christian is a struggle; a continuing, difficult struggle against sin, and a struggle to live a cruciform life in a world that hates Jesus.  It is difficult, but you live out your cross-shaped life knowing God cares for you.  Jesus gave His life for your life.  Jesus bled and died to save you.  You are baptized into Christ.  You are fed with the body and blood of Jesus.  You belong to God for eternity.  God the Father knows more about you than you know about yourself.  He knows how many hairs are on your head.  The Father cares about each little bird, how much more then does He care about you?

Confess Jesus as Lord.  Confess God, Father; Son and Holy Spirit.  Live out your cross-shaped life in love and service to others knowing you have already been made perfect in Jesus; knowing you are loved and redeemed by the Lord Jesus.

Too often in life we waste a lot of time playing a game of perfection by trying to get all the right pieces in the right places before time runs out.  You will never get all the pieces in the right places in life, but the most important game of perfection is already finished.  You have been made perfect in Christ.  You have been baptized into Christ.  Your life is in Christ and in Christ you have His perfection.  Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[4]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[5]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[6]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Pentecost 2, 2017  Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 18, 2017
Psalm 100, Exodus 19:2-8, Romans 5:6-15, Matthew 9:35-10:8

Sermons online:
Text:                                      pastorjud.org
Audio:                                  pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                                    bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:            bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

It’s no wonder the crowds gather: they’ve heard about Jesus. He’s going from town to town, city to village. He’s preaching about the Kingdom of God. He’s healing every sickness and disease He encounters. The stories of His miracles spread, as does the Gospel of the kingdom.  The people flock to Jesus.  They are sheep in need of a shepherd. They are weary and scattered, sick and heavy-burdened and the Lord has compassion on them. He desires that all be healed, relieved, forgiven and gathered.

He says to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mt. 9:38).

The disciples probably say, “Amen” to this prayer and Jesus uses them as an answer to the prayer. He calls the twelve to Himself. He gives them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Then He sends them out, saying, Matthew 10:5-8 (ESV) ⁵ … “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

Jesus could do this so many other ways. He could send out legions of angels to declare this message of His kingdom. He could use a voice from heaven for all to hear at the same time. He could just write the message in everyone’s heart. He could sit in the temple and summon all nations to Himself. He could do whatever He wants: He’s the Son of God. But instead, He picks twelve men to go and tell.

They go, and they go knowing two things: they have been given to, and they have been sent. They’re not making up the message as they go along, but they go to proclaim the message that has been freely given to them. They’re not going to perform wonders and healings out of their own closet of miraculous powers: they have none. Instead, they’re going to work wonders because Jesus has given them authority to do so and they go because they have been sent. . Freely has this been given to them. Now they may go and freely give.

Thaddaeus isn’t saying to the sick, “In the name of Thaddaeus, be healed.” Bartholomew isn’t saying, “In the name of Bart, come out of them.” Demons aren’t afraid of Bartholomew. But they are afraid of Jesus, and the disciples are doing these things in Jesus’ name. He’s sent them; and by His Word, He is there with them, too.

So they go, and imagine the reaction of the crowds that gather. There may be disappointment. After, all they want to see the Savior, but they get the understudies instead. Perhaps some leave disappointed or disgusted before the disciples open their mouths. Perhaps they feel like Jesus has let them down by not coming personally, or because the student is never better than the master. Those are typical human reactions, but humans are typically wrong with the things of God. The Lord is not unfaithful. This is His way of doing things. When the disciples heal the sick, the sick are healed. When they cleanse the lepers, the lepers are cleansed. When they raise the dead, the dead are raised. When they cast out demons, demons flee.

Why? Because it’s not them doing it. Thaddaeus isn’t saying to the sick, “In the name of Thaddaeus, be healed.” Bartholomew isn’t saying, “In the name of Bart, come out of them.” Demons aren’t afraid of Bartholomew. But they are afraid of Jesus, and the disciples are doing these things in Jesus’ name. He’s sent them; and by His Word, He is there with them, too. When they preach, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” it’s true because the King is there by Jesus’ authority and Word. And that means when the disciples tell the people that their sins are forgiven; their sins are forgiven. Not because the disciples are forgiving them, but because Jesus is. That’s what He sent them to do. That’s what He gave them to do. Freely they have received. Now they freely give.

Weary pastors take great comfort from the story of Balaam in Numbers 22. As you may recall, King Balak sends the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. However, as Balaam rides his donkey toward the people, God opens the mouth of his donkey and the donkey talks. The donkey speaks to rebuke the prophet Balaam.

Now, why would pastors like that story? The comfort goes like this: “If God can speak through Balaam’s donkey, then He can speak through me, too.”

Beyond the laugh, there’s an important point. In His wisdom, with a world full of lost and wandering sheep, God has chosen to spread His kingdom by having sinful human beings speak His Word. He calls pastors in the Holy Ministry to preach that Word publicly, on behalf of His Church.  And pastors can be weird.  A group of men with greater idiosyncrasies would be difficult to find. But despite all the quirks and personality failings the Lord still uses them as His instruments. And not just pastors: every Christian, despite being tempted by sin and exhibiting all sorts of weaknesses, has the privilege of telling that Word about Jesus to others. That is how the kingdom of God spreads.

Why does this work? It is not the people. It’s the Word. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, is present by His Word: the kingdom of heaven is at hand because the King is at hand. The same Savior who went to the cross to die for the sins of the world, now comes in His Word to give that forgiveness to individual people—to you and me and all who hear. Jesus is present where His Word is. Add that Word to water, and He’s there in Baptism. Add that Word to bread and wine, and He’s present in His Supper.

It’s the Word that’s powerful—not the person speaking it. It’s the same Word with the same power that heals the sick, cleanses the leper and casts out demons in the Lord’s time. By that Word, Jesus comes to give forgiveness and faith and life, to turn wandering sinners into the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. It’s that simple.

Of course, even though the Lord is faithful, sinners are not known for the same; so we need to warn of the dangers that we face because we mess up the gifts of God.

One danger is the idea that the power of the Word depends on the charisma of the preacher. If the preacher’s style is engaging and holds my interest, then the Word is powerful stuff. If he has an off Sunday or he’s just dry as dust, then the Word isn’t so powerful. If this is true, that means that God is only as faithful and powerful as the sinful man who is preaching the sermon. It means that God’s power varies upon how much sleep the pastor got the night before. This is an extremely seductive temptation in our culture and society, because image is emphasized so much. People judge books by covers, and companies spend millions of dollars to make sure that their products have the right packaging and an exciting ad campaign. We want to judge the quality of all things by how well they hold our attention. But despite our judgement, the Word’s power is not bound by the personality of the speaker. Where the Word is, Jesus is. Where Jesus is, there is forgiveness and life.

Another danger is the lazy Old Adam’s notion that the speaking of the Word is best left to professionals. Christians meet and spend time with all sorts of people on a daily basis whom the pastor will never meet, and each believer has the joy of telling of the hope they have in Christ. However, many balk at the thought of doing so.

“I don’t know what to say,” is one excuse, although this raises some accusing questions: well why not? With all the Bibles to read and sermons to hear and Bible classes to attend, what prevents you from knowing?  Simply tell other people about Jesus—about His ministry and miracles, His death on the cross and resurrection; about forgiveness and the hope of eternal life.

“Oh, but I’m not a very good speaker.” Neither were Moses or Paul, and I suspect that Balaam’s donkey wasn’t usually eloquent either; yet God used each of them.

“People won’t listen to me.” Careful, now; because now you’re saying that the power of the Word depends on you, not on Christ. I can assure you that people don’t listen to pastors more than others. After all, it’s the Word—not the person who speaks it.

“I don’t like talking to strangers.” That’s okay. I’m not real big on cold-calls door-to-door anyway.  Talk about Jesus to each other. To your kids. Your grandkids. A good friend who’s curious about your faith. The Lord will provide opportunities.

That’s how the Lord spreads His kingdom on earth: He sends out His Word. He gives His people, you and me, the privilege of telling it to others. Despite our sins and weaknesses, He gives us the honor of being His instruments to tell others of Jesus; and He promises that His Word will not return to Him void, but will accomplish what He sends it forth to do. Where people listen to us and rejoice with us, we give thanks and glory to God. Where people reject the Gospel we proclaim, we remember that people rejected Jesus, too, and we give thanks that He counts us worthy to suffer for His name’s sake.

But as you speak His Word, rejoice most of all in this: Jesus first speaks it to you. Freely you have received; only then do you freely give. Your salvation this day is not based upon how well you evangelize, how many people you tell about Jesus, or how well you tell the story. Your salvation is already yours because Jesus has already died on the cross to save you. By the mouths of people in your life—parents, pastors, friends, and others—the Lord has told you of forgiveness; and in telling you, gives it to you.

So it is again this day, as we gather here. Whether it’s a three-year-old at the children’s message or the pastor in the pulpit who speaks God’s Word, it is God’s saving Word. As the Gospel is spoken, it speaks and delivers forgiveness. So on this day you rejoice: you have not just heard about forgiveness today, but by that Word, you are forgiven for all of your sins. Amen

Ascension
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 28, 2017
Psalm 47:1-9, Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            It is a short Gospel lesson this week; only eight verses, but there is a lot packed into these eight verses.  Today we celebrate the ascension of Jesus into heaven 40 days after He rose from the dead.  Next Sunday we will celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit given on Pentecost 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection.

Before Jesus ascends to the Father He tells His disciples once more that He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament – He fulfills the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.  Jesus says the Old Testament is about Him.  The Old Testament points forward to Jesus.  Jesus fulfills the scriptures and then He opens the disciple’s minds so they can understand this.  The Old Testament scriptures point forward to what happens, “that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.”  This is what was foretold in the Old Testament and what was foretold by Jesus Himself.

In His fulfillment, Jesus’ last words on the cross are, “It is finished.”  Jesus is finished making His sacrificial payment for the sins of the world, but Jesus’ work is not finished.  There is lots of work still to do, “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Jesus gives this work to his disciples.  What Jesus has done is not to be kept secret.  What Jesus has done is to be proclaimed to all nations beginning from Jerusalem.  And this is exactly what happens.  The disciples proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins beginning right there in Jerusalem.

Some receive the message with an open heart and repent and receive forgiveness as we see on Pentecost when 3,000 are baptized.  Others hear the message and seethe with hatred and anger and want to silence the message even if it means killing the messenger as we see with the brutal stoning of Stephen.

There is work to be done and the work is not easy.

Jesus tells the disciples, “You are witnesses of these things.”  The disciples are witnesses in two senses of the word.  The disciples are eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  They saw what happened and recorded what they saw in the words of Holy Scripture.

There is lots of work still to do, “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

They are also witnesses in the sense that they tell others about what they have seen.  They proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  But they do not do this alone.  Jesus tells them that they are to stay in the city until they receive power from on high. They are going to receive the Holy Spirit in ten days on Pentecost.  The disciples who seem to have so much trouble understanding what is happening will receive the power of the Holy Spirit; the breath of God, to understand and proclaim the truth of the scriptures.

Many of the disciples are witnesses in a third way by being martyred for the faith.  The Greek word for witness is μάρτυρες, martyres.  Our English word martyr, one who dies for the faith, derives from the Greek word for witness.  Ten of the remaining eleven disciples, it is believed, died for the faith.  They were killed for proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins found in Jesus alone.

Now you may think the disciples had it easy early on because they were right there with Jesus and should be able to clearly understand what Jesus wants them to do.  While they have the advantage of being right there with Jesus.  You have the advantage of knowing the whole story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and you have had the power of the Holy Spirit from the time of your baptism to give you faith to believe Jesus is God in flesh; the Lamb of God, sacrificed on the cross for your sins.

You have heard the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins.  You know the truth about Jesus and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, making your body its temple.  You are a saint of the Lord washed clean in the blood of Christ.  You are holy in Christ, you are the light of Christ, and yet you are locked in a great struggle with the darkness.  You feel the pressure to sin coming from the devil as he whispers, “it’s no big deal”, “everyone is doing it”, “no one will know”.  You feel the world encouraging you to sin through a flood of temptation and you can feel it trying to make sin become your new normal.  You feel the evil desires coming from your own sinful nature pulling you back again and again into your favorite sin.  You are under great pressure to conform your life to the sinful ways of the world and it is unrelenting.  Resist.  Repent.  Receive forgiveness.  You know the truth.  You are baptized.  You no longer belong to the world.  You know Jesus is Lord.  You know that Jesus is God in flesh who died and rose from the dead just as He promised.  You have the Holy Spirit.  You know the truth about Jesus.  There is great temptation to sin, so struggle against sin each and every day.  Turn away from sin.  Daily repent of your sin.  Let go of the sin that ensnares you.  Eliminate sinful situations.  You resist sin, you fight against sin, you repent when you give in to sin.  Because you know the truth about Jesus.

And you proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all the world beginning close to home among family and friends and the people in your life.  You are salt and light to the world living your ordinary life in an extraordinary way.  You read and study God’s word to know the truth about Jesus.  You remain ready to give a reason for the hope that you have.

You proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in your support of the ministry of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School.  Your time and talents and treasures make it possible for repentance and the forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed here each Sunday morning.  Your time and talents and treasures make it possible to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins at our school throughout the week in the classrooms and in chapel.  You proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in support of necessary growth to reach out to even more students and families with the life giving message of the Gospel.  You proclaim the truth of Jesus through support of missionaries in the field and pastors in training at the seminaries.  You do the work that has been given you to do.

Jesus’ work of the sacrifice for sin is over but work remains to be done to bring the Good News to the world.  You are a witness telling others about what Jesus has done; for you and for the world.  You know the truth.

You know that Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after His resurrection and this is a source of great joy.  Great joy to know that indeed Jesus is God.  Great joy to know that He sent the Holy Spirit.  Great joy to know that all that He said He would do, He did, for you.  Clap your hands, all peoples.  Shout to God with loud songs of joy.

Salvation of the world begins right there in Jerusalem with Jesus and it spreads in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, even to here in Hamilton, Ohio.  What Jesus said would happen, did happen.  You have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.

And so today we remember Jesus’ ascension into heaven and how He has everything prepared for the disciples and you to continue His work.  Next week we will remember Jesus fulfilling His promise of sending the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the people on Pentecost.  We will recall how the Christian Church begins there in Jerusalem as a fulfillment of the Old Testament and Jesus’ words.  And each day we continue to do the work Jesus gave us to do because the ascended Jesus is Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Easter 5 2017
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 14, 2017
Psalm 146:1-10, Acts 6:1-9; 7:2, 51-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

What is truth?  We live in an era with more access to information than ever before.  Time was that if you were in a disagreement with someone about whether or not something was true you would have to wait until you got to the library to look it up in the encyclopedia or something to try to determine the facts.  Now you can just whip out your smart phone and Google the answer.  Except now there is a question as to whether or not you can believe what you read online.  What is truth?  What is fake news?  What is real news?  What is the source?  Can I trust Wikipedia?  Can I trust Snopes?  Can I trust CNN?  Can I trust Fox News?  What is truth?

This is not a new question.  Pontius Pilate famously asks this question, John 18:37-38 (ESV) ³⁷ Then Pilate said to [Jesus], “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” …^[1]

What is truth?

In our Gospel reading today Jesus is with the disciples in the upper room on Maundy Thursday.  He is teaching them about what is going to happen.  He has washed their feet, he has given them the command to love one another, he has told Peter that he will deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows.

The disciples have heard Jesus predict again and again that he will be arrested and killed and rise again, and after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead the opposition against increased greatly and it is no secret that the religious leaders are looking to kill Him.

Jesus tries to comfort his disciples by telling them what will happen.  Despite the current tensions, in the end everything is going to be good.

John 14:1-4 (ESV) ¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”^[2]

No matter what happens, Jesus is coming back for His followers to take them to God the Father.  Not right away, but Jesus will be back.  Where Jesus is you will be too.  And you know the way.

John is not kind to the disciples.  He records throughout the Gospel of John that the disciples are pretty thickheaded; they don’t understand what Jesus is trying to teach them.  John 14:5 (ESV) ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”^[3]

John 14:6 (ESV) ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.^[4]

The disciples have Jesus right with them teaching them, but they do not understand.  They are not too different from us.  We have the whole story.  We have the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection and still we struggle with the truth.

Like the disciples, we struggle because we so desperately want to cling to what we can see; what we can touch and feel; what we think we can understand.  We are so enamored with the things of this life.  We are so in love with the things of this world that we can lose focus on the truth.

We can get caught in monkey traps.  It is said that in order to catch a monkey you put a banana or other fruit into a jar chained to a post with an opening large enough for the monkey’s open hand to go in, but not come out when he makes a fist.  The monkey reaches in and grabs the banana, but can’t get his hand out while holding onto the banana.  The monkey will not let go of the banana in order to get free.

Jesus is the truth that transcends the terrestrial.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than anything in this earthly life.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than life.

How many things in life threaten to be a monkey trap for you?  What sin do you just want to hold onto instead of letting it go?  In your life, how are you pursuing momentary pleasure instead of God’s will?  There is a great temptation to hold on tightly to a sinful situation rather than let go and be free.  We are so in love with the things of this life.  This is what we understand.  This is what we can hold onto.  We hold tightly to the things of this world, but the truth is not found in anything we can grasp.

What is truth?  Jesus is truth.

Let go of the sin you cling to and cling to the truth; cling to Jesus.  Jesus is truth.  Jesus is on the cross for the forgiveness for those sins.  The truth of Jesus is more important than life.  Jesus is truth.  Jesus on the cross for you is truth.  We know God the Father through Jesus.  The Holy Spirit dwells in you to give you faith in Jesus.  Jesus is the truth.  As you look at the cross, what letter does it look like?  “T”.  “T” for truth.  Jesus is the truth that transcends the terrestrial.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than anything in this earthly life.  Jesus is the truth that is greater than life.

We see this clearly in our first reading with the account of Stephan.  The truth of Jesus is greater than life and the truth can get you killed.  Stephen speaks the truth, Acts 7:51-53 (ESV) ⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. ⁵² Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” ^[5]

Stephen spoke the truth.  The people did not like the truth.  They were holding on too tightly to the things of this world, their rules and positions and authority.  They did not like the truth and had to stop it.  And so they stopped it by throwing rocks at Stephen until he was silent.  They stoned Stephen to death to stop him from speaking the truth.  But the truth is greater than life.

The crowd threw stones at Stephen because Stephen was testifying about Jesus, the living stone.  The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.  And on that cornerstone of truth you, yourselves are being built up as a spiritual house.

One of those present at the stoning of Stephen is Saul who is zealous to silence the truth about Jesus until the truth about Jesus is revealed to him and he lets go of the things of this world and becomes the greatest missionary of all time bringing the truth of Jesus to the world.  The truth is greater than life.  You pledged this is true at your confirmation; to remain faithful, and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from Jesus.

What is truth?  Jesus is truth.

The truth of Jesus is an eternal truth; anything we cling to in this life is only temporary.  Jesus is the way to eternal life.  So let go of trying to understand eternity with a limited, earthly knowledge.  Seek the truth in Jesus.

As a baptized child of God you live life in the joy of knowing the eternal truth that Jesus loves you.  You live in sacrificial love for one another.  Today we remember the sacrificial love of mothers for their children.  The sacrificial love of a mother is an amazing thing.  A mother will do anything for her child.  A mother will lay down her life for her child.  The love of a good mother is a picture of the kind of love Christ has for you.  A mother’s earthly love is a small picture of Christ’s eternal, perfect love.

What is truth?  Jesus is the truth.  Ponder the rock-solid truth of Jesus giving Himself for you.  Let go of all the earthly things you think are so important and lose yourself in the truth of Jesus.

Jesus is the cornerstone.

Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the truth.  Jesus is the life.

Amen

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[4]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[5]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

Easter 4, 2017 Good Shepherd Sunday – Confirmation Sunday
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 7, 2017
Psalm 23, Acts 2:42-47,

Sermons online:
Text:                            pastorjud.org
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

Sometimes when people want to attack Christians sometimes they will ask the “gotcha” question, “So, is Ghandi in Hell?”  Mahatma Ghandi, the Indian, Hindu civil rights leader, was a good guy.  Ghandi was a peaceful man.  Ghandi did a lot of good stuff.  Is Ghandi destined for Hell?

We so much want Ghandi to be with the Lord awaiting the joys of paradise because Ghandi was a great guy.  We really want it to be true that being a good guy is good enough.  But is it enough to be a good guy?

We live with a very strange way of thinking about being good enough.  We desperately want to believe that being good enough is enough; that we are saved by what we do; that we must have something to do with our own salvation.  And yet, at the same time, we know that we are not good enough.  We know in our hearts that we are indeed natural born sinners.

I wonder if it is sort of like how many Americans look at being poor.  In America, anyone can achieve great wealth given enough hard work and good fortune, therefore poor folks in America often don’t really see themselves as poor but rather as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.

When we find ourselves continuing to struggle with sin perhaps we truly believe that if we just try hard enough we can free ourselves from bondage to sin.  Indeed if we try harder we can become good enough.  Just try harder and you can free yourself from sin.  How’s that working for you?

So, what is the way to heaven?  It really isn’t that difficult.  Jesus explains it clearly in today’s Gospel lesson.

John 10:7 (ESV) ⁷ … “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.^[1]  Jesus is the door.  Jesus is not a door.  Jesus is the door.  And not the door so much as the door way.  Jesus is not shut and locked to keep people out, Jesus is the opening to let people in and all are invited to enter through Jesus, the door.

It’s not about being a good guy.  It is not about being good enough.  It is about Jesus being good enough.

John 10:9 (ESV) ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.^[2]

Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leads His sheep to still waters and green pastures.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Him.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep.

It’s not about being a good guy.  It is not about being good enough.  It is about Jesus being good enough.  It is about Jesus being the sacrificial Lamb of God, offered up on the altar of the cross.

As a baptized child of God you are at the same time a saint made holy and perfect by the blood of Jesus, and a sinner who is locked in a lifelong struggle with the devil, the world and your own sinful desires.  The struggle against sin far too often does not go very well.  The devil is well practiced in tempting you to give in to your desires.  And as you struggle against sin in life you soon realize you are not good enough no matter how hard you try to pretend.  You are locked in a desperate struggle with sin and it appears that sin is winning.  What a great relief it is to know that it is not about you, it is about Jesus for you.  It is about Jesus for everyone.  Repent and follow Jesus.  Jesus is the door and the door is open for all people.

What great comfort there is in realizing that Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  It truly is not about you.  It is about Jesus for you.  You cannot trust your own actions or motivations, but you can rest assured in Jesus’ promise.  What a great comfort to know that you are a sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd.

The 23^rd Psalm brings such great comfort and we often use it at times when we know that we are not in charge.  We speak this comforting Psalm to people who are sick or near death.  Sick and dying people no longer live under the illusion of being in charge of their own lives.  When life is crumbling down around your ears it becomes clear that  of all the things in life, the best thing to be is to be a sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd.  Even as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death the Good Shepherd is there for you.

The 23^rd Psalm shows you it is all about God and what God has done for you.   He is my shepherd.  He makes me lie down.  He leads me.  He restores.  He leads.  You (Lord) are with me.  Your rod and staff comfort.  You prepare.  You anoint.  The major focus of the Psalm is all of what God does for you.  Interestingly the center word of this Psalm in Hebrew is you, referring to God; Thou in the King James.  You are with me.  Thou art with me.  Thou (God) is the center of Psalm 23; twenty-six words before and 26 words after it in the Hebrew.  It is humbling and a great comfort to know that God is in charge and not you.

What an eternal blessing to know that Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  But this also means that there is only one way.  We want to believe that there are many ways to the Father, but there is only one way and that is through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  That is why we preach this Good News.  This is why we reach out to others.  This is why we have our school.  This is why we support missionaries.

Today is confirmation Sunday for our sister in Christ, Molly Risner.  Molly today will herself confess the promises that were made for her at her baptism July 13, 2003.  Molly will confess that Jesus is the Savior.  Molly chose for her confirmation verse, Psalm 27:1 (ESV) ¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?^[3]

What an appropriate verse for Good Shepherd Sunday and confirmation Sunday.  It’s a good one for all of us to memorize.  ¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Life is hard in this walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  We are sorely tempted to give up on Jesus being Lord and making something else the most important thing in our lives.  But what else could possibly replace the Lord in Psalm 27 or Psalm 23.

¹ Money is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

Pride is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?^[4]

Lust is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Hatred is my light and my salvation?

My good works are the stronghold of my life.

No.  The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

The Lord Jesus is the shepherd of the sheep.

Jesus is the door for the sheep.

God is in charge and salvation comes through Christ Jesus.  What an everlasting security it is to know that God is in charge.

The way to the Father is through the door that is Jesus.  That is true for you and it is true for all people.  Jesus is the way.  This is the Good News that we confess.  This is the Good News that we bring to this community and to a world that is still looking for the way.  Jesus is the way.  Jesus is the door.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Amen.

[1]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[2]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[3]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

[4]  The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001